Video Game Review of Metroid: The Other M

Nothing gets gamers more hyped than the announcement of a new title in a big name franchise. Metroid: The Other M had me excitedly anticipating its release for about half a year now. Handed over to Team Ninja, the people responsible for the excellent (if extremely difficult) Ninja Gaiden games, the group promised to do exciting new things to Metroid, attempting to evolve and push it forward in the same way Metroid Prime originally did. And everything looked great….at least until the game was released. While the majority of critics gave it good ratings, there was just enough doubt and bad reviews in the air that I decided, before I was going to pay fifty bucks for this game, I would need to rent it first. So I went to the local video store, shelled out my ten bucks (seriously, this is what Blockbuster charges for game rentals these days), and went home to have what I hoped would be an enjoyable experience.

The first thing I noticed about the game is how it looks. Graphically, this game is fantastic by Wii standards. The cut scenes are the best I’ve seen on the console yet, and even the in-game graphics are great by comparison. I actually think my slightly older TV wasn’t able to render the graphics at their maximum, as the character models had a few rough edges, a problem I’ve seen happen with non-HD TVs. Still, the game has all the colors and effects I expect from a Metroid game, and in that respect, it shines as an unparalleled example that even an aging piece of tech like the Wii can still stand strong.

The gameplay feels like it’s a kickback to the glory days of Super Metroid, while at the same time evolving into something new entirely. About half the game plays as a pseudo side scroller, where you can move in all three dimensions, but the halls are angled in such a way that the third dimension has little impact. The rest of the time it’s open room or long hallways that allow for open movement, although the rooms never feel so vast that you’re truly roaming around. It should be noted that while the camera isn’t controllable, it is always adjusted to the perfect position for you to be able to see what’s going on around Samus. Only once or twice does it become a hindrance (such as running into an enemy slightly off screen), but otherwise it shifts seamlessly as needed, and always manages to catch the best and most cinematic angles.

Ooohh...I can't even see the pixels.

The control scheme for this game is almost too simple, as most of the time you’re playing the game with the Wii-Mote on its side, which creates a simple three button setup with a D-Pad for movement. Thanks to the well placed camera and the game’s natural auto aiming system (trust me, it’d be impossible without this), the controls work really well….at least until you have to go into first person mode. In order to beat the harder enemies and bosses, as well as solve puzzles, you are forced to flip the Wii-Mote vertically and use the fiddly controller as its creators intended. This feature actually works against the game, as the switch between modes is extremely awkward, and you’ll find half the time your aim goes all over the place as you try to adjust to the change. Coupled with the fact you have a very small window of opportunity to peg some of the harder enemies with missiles along with your original aiming orientation being based on which way your character model is facing, and you have a recipe for extreme frustration and many unnecessary continues. Maybe this is better with the newer more accurate Wii-Motes that have come out in recent years, but for those of us stuck with the old ones, the Wii’s “innovative” features do nothing but get in the way of the good gameplay.

So by now you must be thinking, “Wexiomatic, you’ve said the game is mostly good so far; how can you possibly think there was any stock in those bad reviews?” Well, yes, it’s true that mechanically I didn’t encounter that many problems. However, that wasn’t where the reviews gave the game a bad mark. The thing that everyone has been up in arms about with this game is the storyline and, even more importantly, the characterization of Samus Aran herself. This is the first time in the entire Metroid series where we really get to see Samus talk and finally get to learn a little about her beyond the brief mission reports from the other games. This is the part of the game that had everyone excited, and sadly, this is the part of the game that failed the hardest.

To all you Metroid fans out there, what do you think of when you think of Samus Aran? Personally, I picture a strong woman, a paragon bad ass in the world of video games. She is a character who is independent, keeps cool under pressure, is resourceful, and relies on her wits and guts to get the job done. Despite her mostly silent nature, we get that she isn’t heartless, as the story from Super Metroid shows hints of her kindness towards the last baby Metroid. She is, in my opinion, the original and best female character in gaming. She is the type of woman game creators should be designing for their games; a character whose gender is not only her least defining trait, but barely a factor at all. She is a bad ass, alien-blasting bounty hunter first and foremost, who just happens to be a woman. That to me is the definition of a great female character, and how I think Samus is viewed not only by me, but by the gaming community at large.

Check out the Arm Cannon on that one!

You read all that? Good. Now take that entire speech, and throw it all out the window when talking about Samus in this game. ALL OF IT.

This is the not the Samus we were expecting. Instead of a confident bad ass, Samus is portrayed as a self-doubting, insecure submissive idiot who has to rely on other characters in the story at every crucial interval in order to succeed. There are at least five points in the story when Samus is fighting or dealing with a huge threat, and is just absolutely helpless in some fashion until one of the soldiers comes to save her. And did I mention that all those characters are men? That’s right, Samus constantly needs a man to come to her aid and save her.

Now to be fair, almost all other characters Samus encounters in the game are men, so perhaps I am being a little overzealous about the feminist message. That might be the case, if it weren’t for Adam, Samus’ former commanding officer that she meets early on in the game’s mission (a few spoilers ahead, just as a warning). Samus is OBSESSED with Adam, to a really disturbing degree. She thinks of Adam as a father figure, and is remorseful that she offended him in the past by leaving the federation to become a bounty hunter. That’s right, Samus REGRETS becoming an independent galaxy-saving bad ass and instead wished she could still be a standard military subordinate, all because of this man. Still think I’m overreacting with the feminist message?

Yeah, you're going to learn to hate this guy. A LOT.

Oh, but it gets even better, since this Elektra Complex male dependency actually seeps into the gameplay itself. To those who have never played a Metroid game before, one of the core gameplay mechanics is collecting items and weapons to help you overcome the obstacles in your way, until you are an unstoppable armory of destruction. The problem with this is the Metroid games have a continuous storyline to them, so Samus technically does keep her upgrades between games, MEANING they need a good excuse to reset your equipment each game. Most games come a clever reason for this, such as an explosion malfunctioning your suit in Metroid Prime or the suit needing to be replaced due to infection in Metroid Fusion. But in Other M, you do have all your items from the last game, and this time, there’s no reason you couldn’t use all your items from the beginning. Oh wait, Adam says you aren’t authorized to use them until you really need them, since they might damage the ship. Well, he doesn’t actually SAY you can’t use them; you decide to take it upon yourself to follow these rules since it will please Adam. Because we must please Adam, as he can do no wrong and might as well be the one saving the universe instead of this WORTHLESS INCARNATION OF SAMUS.

I know is this just Team Ninja’s way of doing the upgrade-as-you-go mechanic, but this was probably one of the worst ways they could have possibly implemented it. It not only demeans the character of Samus, but also makes NO SENSE. You’re telling me Samus is going to let herself burn to death in the fire world just because some asshole in a command center doesn’t approve her to use her fire protection suit until she’s almost dead. I’m not exaggerating here either; you literally have to go through an hour of the lava world, slowly losing life the entire time, and it isn’t until you fight the world boss that Adam approves the Varia suit. That douche bag would have let you incinerate rather then breach protocol.

Don't worry about it Adam, I don't mind the horrific third degree burns if you think I deserve them.

The unlock system isn’t the only story structure problem with this game. The gameplay is constantly broken up by long cut scenes and scripted portions of walking where the controls and camera angles are designed to facilitate a specific cinematic atmosphere. The worst parts are when you're forced into first person mode to look for the one item or pixel on the screen that you must focus on to move the game forward, a task which sometimes has you frustratingly combing the screen for up to ten minutes. While this could potentially be an excellent way to propel a good story forward, Other M’s plot and writing is so weak and flimsy that you dread walking through every door for fear of having all the action stop dead just so the plot that you don’t care about can drone on endlessly. Which reminds me, for a previously nearly silent protagonist, Samus needs to learn to SHUT THE HELL UP. This woman NEVER stops talking, as every single cut scene involves her continuous inner monologue narrating every frigging detail of what’s happening in the game. And the few times she isn’t telling you what you’ve already figured out for yourself, she’s going into her dry and dull past relationship with Adam that has absolutely no relevance to the real plot of the game.

As I said before, Samus is rarely in charge of saving anything in her own story. The beautiful cut scenes are rarely used to show Samus kicking ass in any manner. In fact, they're mainly used to show off Samus' body when she's in her Zero Suit, which is, I swear, in about every other cinematic scene. I understand the story wants to show that's she human and actually allow us to understand and empathize with her, but the method Team Ninja employs is one of the most sexist and exploitive ways they could have possible. It reminds me over and over that this game is turning this character into a helpless damsel-in-distress for the sake of a little T&A.

You'd probably be able to take this scene more seriously if you weren't transfixed by that enormous derriere.

Oh but don't you worry, the game does in fact have a real plot beyond the crappy character back-story. It involves Metroids, and government experiments gone wrong, and potentially could have been interesting and exciting. However, the pacing of the story is awful, as the game seems much more concerned about indulging Samus’ inner yearnings for Adam, and the little bit of story we do get is full of plot holes that are never truly resolved. One of the biggest involves the suggestion of traitor in the federation commandos, a special agent designed to take down everyone involved in the mission in order to cover up the entire incident. So who could be the traitor; which of the completely bland and underdeveloped soldiers could it be? Well, the answer doesn't matter, since the entire subplot is forgotten by the end of the game, and has no importance to the conclusion of the story. Wow game, thanks for raising my expectations and wasting my time.

And that's only one example; there are many more moments throughout the game that will have you facepalming from idiocy, groaning in boredom, or literally throwing your controller across the room in sheer anger at the stupidity and ineptitude of the entire project. I could do an entire article about the most rage-worthy moments of this game, but I will save you my rant here (maybe another time). Suffice it to say that I haven't even begun to go into the most anger-inducing scenes in this game, but I will keep those surprises to myself for now. Who I am to spoil a perfectly horrible moment for you all?

Even if we ignore the story, this game doesn’t feel much like Metroid. The Metroid games have always been about exploring a hostile environment where the sense of dangerous isolation is everywhere. But this game feels completely different from that. There’s always another person around to talk to, and the entire level layout is extremely linear, as opposed to the open world exploration Metroid games are generally known for. Even the environments don’t feel right, as the artificial biological laboratories lack the creepy ambiance of their predecessors. It all feels off, and feels like a game that isn’t a Metroid title.

I think that’s what it all boils down to; the game doesn’t deliver we expect of a Metroid game. Were this some independent or lesser budget/new franchise title, I would be more forgiving. Disappointed, but at least forgiving. But this is Metroid, and we expect something out of a big name like that. This game, despite its interesting gameplay and great graphics, is everything we didn’t want Metroid to be. Maybe that sounds like I’m a ranting fanboy (which I am), but I really think it goes beyond that. This is a story that truly is uninteresting and boring to listen to, and the fact that it's a Metroid title only compounds this problem tenfold. Also, did I mention this game is only about ten hours long, maybe fifteen tops with a second playthrough to unlock everything? I wouldn’t know about that though, as my Wii actually crashed halfway through the credits, so I can only assume it would have permanently hemorrhaged itself to death had I attempted a second playthrough.

I went and watched the "real" ending on youtube later, and trust me, you aren't missing anything.

So yeah, while this game is probably worth a rental, there isn’t enough substance or quality here to warrant your fifty dollars for a full purchase. Maybe some day, when the game inevitably hits the bargain bin, it’ll be worth purchasing, but until then, keep it at as rental. And let’s all pray to the great Miyamoto above that the next time a Metroid game is made, Nintendo is more careful about how it turns out.

WEXIOMATIC RATING: 4/10 (Almost-but-not-quite Average)